Secretly Married to my Professor

05| Not Your Average Hijabi

"We have heard from everyone here except Zahrah, so Zahrah, what do you think," Mama Noura asked.

"I am sorry for breaking your nose," I said to Emilia, who was just silently sitting listening to the conversation. " I am sorry, Baba, for getting into the fight," I added, "I never want you to feel disgrace from me so that I will go to Therapy, and I will attend Med school," I looked at my mom. "And I will go to Quran class on Monday," I lastly added, looking at grandma.

"See, son, Noting is solved by yelling," Mama Noura said, looking at Baba.

***********

"Do you think that the classes will be hard?" I asked the hijabi girl sitting next to me as we were about to be split up into groups and meet our mentors.

"Well, if you got accepted here, then you better be ready for anything," She said before groans in annoyance and left the seat beside me empty.

'I seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan,' I whisper to myself, trying to control my anger. I wish Baba could see this, and then I want him to ask me why I was angry all the time because people make me mad. It wasn't my fault.

"Don't mind her," A boy says, sitting next to me with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. "My sister is a cruel nerd,"  The boy says before taking a seat next to me.

"It is going to be a challenge, but we Muslims have to stick together," He says, and while I was staring at him most of the time, he lowered his gaze and never even once looked up to meet my eyes.

"Our next speaker will be Dr.Benjamin Florentino. He is a graduate of Stanford Medical School and has been part of our faculty for two years." The student introduced him before taking her seat.

"Good afternoon," He started once he reached the podium. I was utterly taken aback by the man who stood before us. 

This was the curly chestnut-colored hair guy? That drugged dude.?! The bruises on his face were still apparent but a little faded. 

He was tall and appeared to be well built, so I didn't think he was a professor; he didn't look like a professor; he looked more of a boxer than a professor. 

"Who messed up that guy's face?" The boy next to me asked, but he didn't receive any answer.

"Close your mouth. Flies are going to fly in." The guy sitting next to me chuckled as he whispered that sentence when he looked up at me.

How Embarrassing!? 

"You have the hots for one of our professors." He replied, still laughing.

"How do you know he's our professor?" I asked, rolling my eyes. We hadn't even gone to class yet.

"Check your schedule," The guy suggested before turning his attention back to the speech. I took the schedule out of my agenda and realized he taught two of my six classes. He was teaching Human Anatomy I and Molecular Foundations of Medicine.

"Told you!" The guy added triumphantly.

"You have all accomplished a great feat by getting here. But, your challenges are far from over. The road to becoming a great doctor never ends... But, it starts here, and it starts today. But, the road starts here, and we will start on it together today. At Stanford, we pride ourselves on helping you develop the knowledge and skills to become great doctors. We encourage you to work together with your fellow students instead of against them. There are no letter grades, but rather a simple Pass or Fail." Dr. Florentino explained.

"Part of the way we encourage teamwork is by dividing all incoming students into groups of five. The groups are selected based on various factors, including achievement level and distance from your residence. In other words, most of your group members will be living somewhat near you, and you will all share the same class schedule. A faculty member, like myself, will lead these groups. I will now begin by calling the first group. If I call your name, please meet in the front lobby." He said before shuffling through his papers.

I wondered if he'd recognize me just like I knew him immediately. I wondered if I mattered enough that after two weeks, he would still remember me.

Although I was asking myself, why would I care?

Author Note 

ASSALAM ALAIKUM, everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Thank you to everyone who voted and commented. You all are amazing!  Please remember to Vote, Comment & Share.

Until next time, Jazakallah a million!